The First Annual Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival will bring many thousands of movie, arts and nature lovers to downtown Gainesville to see outstanding environmental films and art, learn about environmental and social justice issues, explore and protect our natural treasures and work to create sustainable communities.

The Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival is a collaborative effort of The Hippodrome Theatre and GoGreenNation.org. It will bring together governmental and community organizations, businesses and individuals who are passionate about environmental issues in order to:

• Raise awareness of environmental issues
• Inspire community to lessen personal environmental impact
• Provide networking opportunities for environmental groups
• Engage the community through school-related programs
• Community conservation projects
• Green business education
• Film, music, dance, poetry, photography and visual art exhibitions
• Community nonprofit organizational involvement

The festival will present ten days of the best in environmental feature films and documentaries, film and environmental workshops, and culminate in an Environmental Fair and free family film at the Bo Diddley Downtown Plaza. Please let us know how you’d like to help make this festival the best it can be for our community.

Festival Coordinators

Trish Riley is an award-winning investigative and environmental journalist and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Greening Your Business (Penguin 2009), The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living (2007), Palm Beach, Miami and the Florida Keys: A Great Destination (Norton 2009) and The Explorer’s Guide to South Florida (with Sandra Friend, Norton 2009). Her work has been published in major newspapers, national and international magazines. She is a board member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and an honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. She is the founder of www.GoGreenNation.org , a website designed to promote green jobs, resources and businesses and www.GoGreenGift.com, an eco-starter kit. In addition, Trish worked from 1981 to 1988 developing and directing non-profit social service programs serving low-income children and homebound elderly.